Case against man who told lawyer joke is tossed

[Scurrilous]

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lijoke0209,0,534812.story?coll=ny-topstories-headlines

<snip>

"A grand jury delivered the punchline for a senior citizen charged with disorderly conduct after telling lawyer jokes outside a Long Island courthouse: charge dismissed. No kidding.

Nassau County District Attorney Denis Dillon said Tuesday that a grand jury considered the evidence in the case and voted to dismiss.


On Monday, Harvey Kash, 70, testified before the grand jury that he was expressing his First Amendment rights in sharing a few lawyer jokes with a friend, Carl Lanzisera, 65, as they stood on line waiting to get into the Nassau County courthouse last month. It was alleged the two men had been abusive and caused a disturbance."

<snip>

"Ron Kuby, Kash's lawyer and a radio talk show host, said his client was delighted with the grand jury's dismissal.

"It's still legal in America to tell jokes -- even about lawyers," Kuby said."

[BrklynLiberal]

1. and taxpayers had to go for the cost of this ridiculous court case!!!

The idiot who charged him should have to pay for it out of his pocket.

[d.l.Green]

9. The one case that begs for tort reform! /nt

[Inland]

2. Also legal: jokes about old coots who bore you with tired gags.

[WI_DEM]

4. are you a lawyer?

[Inland]

7. I possess a law license AND a sense of humor.

The coots possess neither.

[alwynsw]

8. So...didja hear the one about the honest lawyer?

Neither did I.

They're only old and tired if both the teller and the listener(s) are not amused. Eavesdroppers don't count.

Rant on.

[Inland]

10. The teller's ability to amuse himself is enough? That explains your joke.

If you think the important thing is that you crack yourself up, why bug me with insults disguised as jokes? Just admit the point IS to bug me, and stop pretending that humor rather than hostility is your aim. It couldn't possibly make you less funny, and you'd be more honest, and with any luck, a lot more scarce.

That enough rant for you?

[northzax]

11. oh stop being so touchy, it's all in good fun

now did you hear the one that starts, "a Jew, a Mexican and a Negro walk into a bar..."

and one more...what do you do if your dishwasher stops working? Beat her until she starts again!

see? all good fun.

[alwynsw]

12. Must be legalese

There is a difference between "both" and "either or". The statement used the word "both".

[Inland]

14. Read what you wrote at least once. Or hire a lawyer to read it for you.

"They're only old and tired if both the teller and the listener(s) are not amused"

So if the teller is amused, then the joke isn't old and tired. In your opinion. It explains your willingness to tell a weak one that nobody but you would find amusing.

Since you required a lawyer to decipher your own post, I'll send you a bill. Now THAT'S funny.

[alwynsw]

15. You should've paid more attention in English class.

You're a lawyer, my wife taught English, likely since before you attended school. I'll take her opinion any day. The operative word is "both"; or did you choose to ignore that little word? It's as simple as the difference in "between" and "among". You either get it or you don't. (The example used in one of her English classes for that little difference was a misuse of "between" instead of "among" in a will drawn up by a lawyer that effectively excluded one of three daughters that were heiresses to an estate.)

Both implies more than one party. One person cannot be a "both" when referring to separate parties. One may be both old and fat in the same instance, but one cannot be both teller and listener in the same instance. Hope that cleared it up for you.

Plain English just escapes the legal community. Evidence abounds in this thread.

[Inland]

16. I paid enough attention to hold this remedial class.

Let's begin with what you posted, and let you read it at least once.

"They're only old and tired if both the teller and the listener(s) are not amused. Eavesdroppers don't count."

According to you, a joke is ONLY old and tired if BOTH the teller and the listener are not amused. Therefore, if the teller is amused by the joke and the listener not amused, the joke IYO is not old and tired.

Your sentence is perfectly clear. Either you didn't understand your own writing, you really intended to say that a joke that bores its listeners is still worth telling. In the latter case you must bore people to tears with bad jokes and bad arguments made in the finest prose.

And I could tell you exactly why lawyers use the language they do. But that's not covered in the remedial class. Come on back when you are ready.

[alwynsw]

17. Gawd!

Get a grip. Get a clue. Get a life. Get help in common English usage. You're as clueless about usage of the language as any of the three blind men touching the elephant was about the beast.

As the cabinetmaker said after varnishing the chest, "I'm done finished with this."

[Inland]

18. And the guy who pretended to know English, humor and a rant is gone.

Well, we did all we could do for you here. Don't let the door hit you in your ass.

[BiggJawn]

3. Prosecutor must have thought they were in a public school...

Guess their "Zero Tolerance" doctrine didn't work...

[Village Idiot]

5. What's the difference between a sturgeon and a lawyer?

One is a scum-sucking, bottom feeder and the other is a fish!

[Rainscents]

6. I remember this case before last election...

GOP lawyer couldn't handle the joke made by Seniors... What a moron!

[Blue-Jay]

13. Sharks...Lawyers....professional Courtesy.....blah blah blah.

Honestly, the guys who know the best and most lawyer jokes are lawyers. They really love that shit.